Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Hi!

This weeks baking choice were Chocolate sponge cakes with peppermint frosting and mint aero bubbles for decoration. 

Recipe:

8oz Margarine/Butter

8oz Caster sugar

6oz self raising flour

2oz Cocoa powder

4 Medium eggs

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Cream margarine/butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy,

Mix in flour, cocoa powder and eggs and blend together well

Place mixture into cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes

Frosting:

250g Icing sugar 

80g Butter

25ml Whole milk

A few drops of peppermint essence/extract 

Green food colouring

Mix butter and icing sugar together

Add the milk, flavouring and food colouring and blend together well

These are extra tasty with a nice kick, enjoy if you decide to make them!

Thanks for reading, see you next week

Kerry xo

Being organised!

Hi!

I personally love to be organised, I'm the one that has my Christmas list written by the end of October at the latest and the one who loves to write a list and tick my jobs off as I go!! I'm a little bit of a stationary geek too.

My top tips to being organised are:

1. Get yourself a nice little note book and pen- its always nice to write in something you really like and cant wait for other people to see therefore you're more likely to get it out and check what yo have written. Its also nice to use for shopping lists and a nice pen well everyone likes a nice pen right?!

2. A tidy work space-  whether this is a desk area, dressing table, specific room or wardrobe a neat and tidy area is always a good idea as you know where everything is and a clear space to complete whatever you are wanting to do. A messy area will just cause distraction and possibly stress you out a little bit!

3. Planning-  For me this is mainly just being aware of what I need to do whether its presents I need to purchase for special occasions, items I may need to take to work that day, tasks/chores I may need to complete with a deadline or arranging specific dates i.e. holidays/time away. (your note book may come in handy here too!!)

4. Use a diary if you have to plan a lot of different events, a diary is ideal for writing where you need to be or what you need to do even if its just a little purse sized one like mine above. By having this you wont be able to double book yourself!!

5. I also like to attempt to keep my handbag in some sort of order so its easier to find things if I'm in a hurry and rushing around. I currently use Katie Loxton pouches/clutch bags to keep everything tidy, I use one for my beauty bits and the other has my portable phone changer and cable in. 

I hope this helps and you find some of these tips useful.

Thanks for reading, see you soon

Kerry xo 

White chocolate chunk and strawberry lace cupcakes

Hi!

Its been a little while since I baked cakes, so I thought I would do just that as they are my favourite things to bake. I love that you can be as creative as you want and I like to try out new flavour combinations.
I made plain sponge with vanilla and white chocolate chunk frosting with strawberry laces to decorate. I have made some similar cakes before which went down well with my family and friends that said I decided to attempted to recreate them for the blog!

The combination of the vanilla essence, white chocolate and the strawberry laces work very well together and give a nice, soft and delicious taste (although maybe I'm bias!!) 

I used my usual recipe:
Sponge-
8oz Margarine/butter
8oz Caster sugar
4 Medium free range eggs
8oz self raising flour

Mix the margarine/butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg and flour in stages and mix well. 

Frosting
250g Icing sugar sieved  
80g Butter (Unsalted)
25ml Whole milk 
A few drops of vanilla essence
White chocolate (I used Nestle milky bar, cut into small chunks)
Strawberry laces to decorate (you could add these to the frosting before putting the frosting on the cakes for a different look)

Mix the butter and sieved icing sugar together until well combined, add the milk and essence to the mix then add the chocolate chunks.

Kerry xo

Afternoon tea at Bayberry Hollow

Hi!

I went for afternoon tea with two of my best friends, we had decided we needed some well deserved girls time for a good old catch up! My best friend booked it and the venue (Bayberry Hollow) was simply amazing, very shabby chic with a vintage feel.  We got a lovely selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones.We had a lovely afternoon and I would recommend this venue to anyone.

 

It also had an amazing gift shop full of quirky, gorgeous girly gifts.

Kerry xo